After he was named in Stuart Pearceâ€™s first squad for next weekâ€™s international against Holland, Richards has been given fresh hope that he can add to his 12 caps and represent his country in Poland and Ukraine this summer.

"If I was to get on the plane now Iâ€™d be the proudest man," he said. "To be frozen out of your international side is hard to take sometimes. I got asked this about a month ago when Capello was still in charge and I said 'never say never'.

"Obviously I didnâ€™t get a chance under him. I donâ€™t know for what reason though. I always asked the question but I never got answer. He had his favourites. He liked Glen Johnson and Kyle Walker, and sometimes youâ€™ve got to just take it on the chin if the manager fancies someone else. You have to deal with it.

"Glen Johnson was injured (for the Montenegro game). It was me and Kyle Walker, but I wasnâ€™t even on the bench in that game. I was probably there because someone was injured not because he wanted me there."